The son of the late Libyan ruler Muammar Gadafy, Saif al-Islam Gadafy, will go on trial next month, a government source said yesterday, in the most high-profile prosecution of a figure from the fallen regime.
“The trial of Saif al-Islam is to start next month, probably the second week of the month,” the source said.
Saif al-Islam will have to respond to charges that include financial corruption, murder and rape, according to a statement from justice minister Ali Ashour in April. His lawyers have voiced concern that their client, viewed by many Libyans as a central power figure in the Gadafy regime, will not get a fair trial in Libya.
Before he was captured in November by anti-Gadafy militias, the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant for his arrest for crimes against humanity during the uprising that brought down his father.
Libya’s new rulers are keen to try Gadafy’s family members and loyalists at home, but human rights activists worry that a weak central government and a lack of rule of law mean legal proceedings will not meet international standards.
Libya has been resisting attempts to transfer Saif al-Islam to The Hague-based ICC. Libya is not a member of the court, but the ICC was granted jurisdiction by the UN Security Council last November. – (Reuters)